Category Archives: MyPick of MuZick

The secret to chasing away the dark in you

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“If we all light up we can scare away the dark” – Passenger #MondayMorningWakeUpCall

Light up to scare away the dark

Let there be light

There are colours of dark in everyone. From not so secretly fantasizing punching your boss to fleeting moments of yearning to slaughter spouse to extended ‘daymares’ of hatred, jealousy, greed and self-doubt.

The colours of the dark may vary, with the blackest rendering many an animal blind. But fighting the dark isn’t the answer to peace on earth and within. The more you fight the dark the more it enshrouds you in black.

One short-term solution: Sing along with Passenger to” Scare Away The Dark”

Well, sing, sing at the top of your voice,
Love without fear in your heart.
Feel, feel like you still have a choice
If we all light up we can scare away the dark

We wish our weekdays away
Spend our weekends in bed
Drink ourselves stupid
And work ourselves dead
And all just because that's what mom and dad said we should do

We should run through the forest
We should swim in the streams
We should laugh, we should cry,
We should love, we should dream
We should stare at the stars and not just the screens
You should hear what I'm saying and know what it means

To sing, sing at the top of your voice,
Love without fear in your heart.
Feel, feel like you still have a choice
If we all light up we can scare away the dark

Well, we wish we were happier, thinner and fitter,
We wish we weren't losers and liars and quitters
We want something more not just nasty and bitter
We want something real not just hash tags and Twitter

It's the meaning of life and it's streamed live on YouTube
But I bet Gangnam Style will still get more views
We're scared of drowning, flying and shooters
But we're all slowly dying in front of fucking computers

So sing, sing at the top of your voice,
Oh, love without fear in your heart.
Can you feel, feel like you still have a choice
If we all light up we can scare away the dark

The question however remains… how do you light up?

 

12 music albums that weren’t invited at the 2016 Grammies

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In the spirit of tradition (my attempt at making it one which I started last year), I’m sharing some of the music albums from outside the Grammy list (that haven’t been nominated for any category), that have had a delirious impact on me.

I’ve listed my favourite albums from last year, in no particular order (with artists in the brackets) and linked my favourite tracks from the albums. Give them a listen. After all, “Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent” – Victor Hugo

And the 2016 non-grammy winners are…

  1. Mad Max: Fury Road (OST) – The soundtrack is as mad as Max, as furious as Furiosa as high-octane as the film.

  1. Wilder Mind (Mumford and Sons) – They have ditched their trademark banjo and have gone wilder, more rock than folk rock with the electric guitar. Always tough for me to choose a favourite track from their albums. Just for the sake of picking one I’ll pick the title track.

  1. Grand Romantic (Nate Reuss) – From Fun. he’s gone grand, he’s gone romantic. And he stirs up a great big storm with many a fine moment.

  1. No Place In Heaven (Mika) – That’s what he thinks about himself, but heaven or not, he deserves a especial place in my ipod

  1. Smokes + Mirrors (Imagine Dragons) – I’ll blindly bet ‘my precious’ on any of their albums

  1. Whispers II (Passenger) – He’s like a younger brother of Ed Sheeran. I’m thinking he needs to shout a bit (and sing some happier tunes) else he just might get lost if he continues to whisper.

  1. White Light (Corrs) – Resurrected after 10 years. And they’ve woken up with a bolt of white light that can make even the darkest of night ever so bright.

  1. American Beauty American Psycho (Fall Out Boys) – It’s psychotic. It’s beautiful. Hope it last for centuries.

  1. Beneath The Skin (Of Monsters And Men) – Beneath the skin I found crystals, and a whole bunch of hidden gems in this album.

  1. Blurryface (Twenty One Pilots) – They really are a super talented duo with an amazing range of musicality.

  1. Emotion (Carly Rae Jespen) – Yup, I could run away with her

  1. Furious 7 (OST) – I could ‘Ride On’ for quite a distance with this album

Bonus Track:

Downtown (Macklemore & Ryan Lewis) – Can’t but help mention my favourite track (single) from last year, almost reminiscent of Bohemian Raphsody.

So what else got missed. Share some artists/albums that rocked you last year and you feel they deserve to get noticed.

Fight Song

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Fight Song by Rachel Platten

“There’s still a lot of fight left in me”

#MondayMorningWakeUpCall I might have only one match but I can make an explosion – Fight Song by Rachel Platten

Find me a person who hasn’t had to fight through life before (and very often after) fame and fortune kissed her and I shall find you a magic lamp that exists outside our imagination.

Rachel Platten is on her way to fame and fortune’s exclusive party. She got invited only after she wrote a song to remind her that no matter how little her music got celebrated or how much she got punched, she believed in herself and she would continue to make music even if it was just for her ears only.

Rachel Platten released her first independent album in 2003 and since then has spent the last 12 years scrapping for gigs, grinding out small tours and trying to figure out how to make a dent in the music industry.

In an interview she mentioned “I wrote ‘Fight Song’ at a real low moment of feeling like, ‘Should I quit? Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I was deluding myself.’ There weren’t a lot of signs to keep going. But something in me — this tiny little crazy voice — would not let me quit. That song was the apex of that moment where it was like, ‘You are not quitting. If nobody else believes in you, you have to believe in yourself.'”

So if the song’s helped her get out of bed even on dark and depressing days with gusto, then I’m guessing, for a manic or no-manic Monday, what better #MondayMorningWakeUpCall could there be to punch through the week with a Fight Song playing in our head.

Hint: The trick however methinks is to not fight. More musings on this puzzling paradox another Monday morning. Till then, thank you Rachel Platten for your Fight Song.

I got news for you!

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Sun is shining and so are you #MondayMorningWakeUpCall

Axwell & Ingrosso, members of erstwhile Swedish House Mafia, seem to be making a habit of belting out galvanizing high energy EDM songs to stir us and spur us on to “Come out and play”. Right from their Swedish House Mafia days of ‘Don’t You Worry Child” to “Save The World” to the current ones in their new duo avatar – “Something New” and their latest “Sun Is Shining”, it seems to be more by design then by accident.

Whether it’s by design because they see world changing possibilities by way of individual change through music or because it makes for better business or a combination of both it, I’m not nit-picking. As long as it aligns itself with a greater cause of ‘waking up people on Monday mornings’ (or what the heck, any morning for that matter), I’m a fan.

Thank you Axwell & Ingrosso for your unwitting support to #MondayMorningWakeUpCall J

Brothers in Arms

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Oh what a day, what a lovely day, to start off with ‘Brothers in Arms’ I say #MondayMorningWakeUpCall

Mad Max: Fury Road blew my mind. The scenes along with the soundtrack is still playing in my head. At a surface level, it’s just a 2 hour relentless chase movie that doesn’t take its foot off the accelerator. The choreography, the energy and the visual spectacle of post apocalyptic dystopia is something that I haven’t seen or experienced before and am unlikely to for a while.

At a ‘reading in between the non-existent dialogues level’ it’s also about a couple of unlikely ‘Brothers in Arms’ fighting their way through ‘Fury Road’ and giving it a shot at redemption. It’s not much unlike life or even a startup, where it becomes easier, and dare I say, fun, to overcome obstacles and bury all ‘fury’, when done with ‘Brothers in Arms’.

Bonus: The music track of Brothers in Arms from the movie to start the day. It’s sure to drive away the Monday morning blues and get your energy levels revved up for the week.

And the 2015 non-Grammy winners are…

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There’s more to the Grammys than meets the ears. I mean there’s a ‘shazam’ of music and talent that doesn’t get any Grammy love. Can’t really fault the Grammy Academy though. There has to be a cut off somewhere, right?

I on the other hand don’t have any obligations or desire to chop or rank. So I’m sharing some of the music albums from outside the Grammy list (that haven’t been nominated either!), in no particular order, that I’m happy I stumbled upon.

I’ve listed my favourite albums from last year (with artists in the brackets) and linked my favourite tracks from the albums. Give them a listen. After all, “Where words fail, music speaks.” – Hans Christian Anderson

 

  1. Queen of the Clouds (Tove Lo) – You’ll Love Tove. Love her ‘Habits’, her ‘Moments’, her ‘Talking Body’ and even her ‘Gun’

Strange Desire (Bleachers) – Throwback to the 80s music, how can I not like it!

  1. I Never Learn (Lykke Li) – She’s being humble here. I think she’s learning pretty well.

  1. Don’t Kill the Magic (MAGIC!) – I believe in MAGIC too.

5.  Islands (Bear’s Den) – I guess if Mumford & Sons were to blend with Of Monsters & Men, it would sound something like this. Happy to take a holiday on these Islands any day.

  1. Fault in our Stars OST (Various Artists) – There’s no fault in these stars at all. My favourite album from 2014.

  1. Begin Again OST (Various Artists) – That’s exactly what I did, after listening to the album.

Bonus tracks: Throwing in a couple one hit wonders

1. Come With Me Now (Kongos) – The accordion does it for me!

2. Prayer in C (Lily Wood & The Prick & Robin Schultz) – For purists out there, listen to the original and then this remix.

So what else got missed. Share some tracks/artists/albums that rocked you last year.